Swanson: Oh, absolutely. The biggest hurdle we seemed to face (when he arrived at Team AZ) was engines. We had some engines that were not brand new. They weren’t high dollar Kistler’s like what we had in the past. So, we were trying to get them going and then we transitioned over to Shavers and that made all of the difference. Right out of the gate we won that race at Perris. We went to Calistoga and we turned over the first night and killed my favorite car. We were able to put the backup car together and with that Shaver engine, we won the second night. That was pretty cool. If we can just keep that going. I think we have a handle on that now. That racecar is so fast every time we unload the thing. That DRC Chassis is such a forgiving car. It is more forgiving than any other sprint car I have ever had. It was like taking a duck to water. The thing matched my driving style. I felt like I could drive it harder and get away with a little bit more than any other car I have ever had.
Not just that, I have a helluva’ crew chief. Having somebody who can watch the car and know what it is doing before you even tell him is huge. In the past, I would think, “I need to do this” and just do it. Then I would get out on the racetrack and second guess myself and think I should have brought the wheel in a little more or ran the five off instead of the four. You can kind of outthink yourself. At that point, you are not even racing. You are just thinking about what you done to make the car faster. With this deal, it is very different. I go out there and I just know the car is perfect. I know the crew chief has already done his job and I just have to do my job and make it count. It is a completely different mindset, and I think it counts for the success.
Question: So, when we get back to racing is your plan to race the USAC/CRA, Southwest Series and Western Midgets?
Swanson: No, we are actually going to scale back. We are not going to do as much Southwest stuff. We are going to try and do all the CRA stuff with the #34AZ. A little bit of National (USAC) stuff including the Kokomo Smackdown and maybe a couple of others. The midget with JFM, we are going to run as much as we can. Maybe a little bit of 360 stuff if I have some off weekends.
What I am really excited about is I have got an opportunity to run a Silver Crown car for Mickey Meyer. It is sort of with my Team AZ guys, too. They are working together with Mickey on that. They are putting two cars together right now. We are going to go test pretty soon. We were hoping to run Williams Grove and before Indy (Lucas Oil Speedway). There is an Eldora race we wanted to run as well. It just kind of depends on when this virus thing ends and if races are going to stay scheduled or be pushed back. Either way, I hope we can get back to racing and I can make those races because I am absolutely stoked to drive a Silver Crown car.
Question: Your wife Jessica, like you, is a hardcore racer. Is she going through racing withdrawals?
Swanson: Oh, big time! She said she has missed half of her season. They (dwarf cars) hit it hard early in the season and then it kind of peters out. She is pretty bummed. And, then we are obviously not running our midget. I have a Spike that had an Ecotec in it. We are not doing that because it is kind of hard to juggle that with all of the things we are doing. At this point she has iRacing. What she is excited about is she has got a sprint car gig with Steve Hix. They are hoping to run some VRA 360 races together. That will be perfect for her to get her feet wet and kind of get warmed up to a sprint car. You never know what will happen after that. If she likes it and she does good, it may turn into something more and some more opportunities. Or it may tell her she does not want to run a sprint car and wants to stick to midget racing. We will see how it plays out.
Question: That begs a question. How would you feel racing a sprint car against your wife?
Swanson: Oh, I would love it. We ran a midget race together a couple years ago. I won it in Mitch Johnson’s No. 68, and she was driving the other car. I thought it was great with her on the racetrack. I actually lapped her, but it was her-first ever midget race.
Question: You were not sleeping on the couch after lapping her, were you?
Swanson: No. Quite the opposite. She was like, “wholly shit, racing a midget for the first time was pretty hard.”
Question: While you mentioned she is going to run VRA Sprint Cars at Ventura, will she keep racing her Dwarf Car?
Swanson: Yeah, she is driving that No. 92 Pit Image Dwarf Car. She is having a good time with Larry Alton. They go to the racetrack in their motorhome and have a great time. It is a very simple program. They do not race a whole bunch, but they try to hit as many national races as they can. Obviously, as a racecar driver, we are always looking for opportunities and the next stepping-stone. That is why she is so pumped about this sprint car deal.
Question: We cannot close this without talking about the third member of your family, your Golden Retriever, Baxter. I do not want to say he is spoiled, but he is spoiled.
Swanson: Oh, absolutely he is spoiled.
Question: How is he adapting to the quarantine?
Swanson: You know, it is funny. Jess and I were talking that he just seemed kind of down the other day. We started thinking he is kind of depressed that he has not been to the racetrack to see all of his friends. So, we had him run around at the beach to get him pumped up again because he has not had the opportunity to go to the track. Whenever we go out to Arizona he is always pumped. It is a long drive and when we get there he knows exactly where he is. He wants to go straight to the pool at John’s house where we stay. He will swim all day. I think he is kind of bumming because he misses all of that.